


All I Need To Breathe

by BulletBlaze



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Human, First Kiss, Fluffy Ending, Kate is a bitch, M/M, Mild Angst, Multi, Party Games, Partying, Sterek Reverse Bang 2017, That's All I Can Think Of, Underage Drinking, or first kisses actually, tiny bit, um
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-09
Updated: 2017-06-09
Packaged: 2018-11-12 03:36:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,077
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11153427
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BulletBlaze/pseuds/BulletBlaze
Summary: The one in which there are cast parties, stupid games, not-so-fake kisses, drunk friends, sober assholes, mutual pining, and a whole lotta confusion.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Heyo! This is for the 2017 Sterek Reverse Bang! I was lucky enough to be paired with the amazing @veste4-buckme ( her amazing tumblr - http://veste4-buckme.tumblr.com/ )  
> I hope you enjoy!  
> Betaed by the amazing @kinsbournescream on tumblr, analinea here on ao3 :D Thank you, my precious pegasus!!!

**November**

 

The party was in full swing when Derek arrived with Laura, the twins being late because Laura hadn’t been able to find the car keys for a good twenty minutes. Derek wasn’t torn up about missing the start of the post-production cast celebrations, but now he was there and he knew he had to go socialize. 

Derek knew about a third of the people there, seeing as some of them had been in the same play as him, but there were still a lot of people he had to awkwardly step around in order to find the people he actually  _ did  _ know. His eyes searched the house and noticed that there was no alcohol in sight, which was strange for a high school party, wasn’t it? Not that Derek had been to all that many parties.

_ Maybe theatre kids aren’t into that kind of stuff? _ he thought.

A hand slapping his shoulder brought Derek back to his surroundings, and he wasn’t surprised to find Stiles standing in front of him with a shit eating grin on his face, a pleasant sparkle to his eyes, and sweat making his hair curl around the beanie hugging his head.

“Derek! You’re here!” Stiles exclaimed. His hands were already tugging at Derek’s arms, trying to drag him forward, presumably to the rest of their cast.

The next moment, Derek was seated on a couch between Stiles and Erica, Boyd across from him. He tuned into the conversation, trying to catch up on what they were laughing so hard at.

“Okay okay okay,” Allison managed through a laugh so intense she had tears slipping from the corners of her eyes. “Stiles, you made Kira and I do Hanschen and Ernst, now we get to choose something embarrassing for  _ you.” _

Stiles mock gasped and clenched a hand over his heart. “Embarrassing?! Ally, have you not seen the Deaf West Theatre version?! There is nothing embarrassing about two men falling in love. I am very disappointed in you, Hanschen.”

Allison rolled her eyes, but her face lit up as Kira leaned close and whispered something in her ear. “Alright, let’s see you not be embarrassed, Mimi.”

The teenagers surrounding Derek broke out in squeals and gasps of delight, but Derek… was just as lost as ever.

Stiles’ face held a challenge, and he didn’t seem the least bit nervous as he spat back, “Just you watch! Now, who’s my Roger?”

Allison scanned the faces in the circle around them, briefly catching on Derek, cocking her head in thought before she saw the confused expression on his face and moved on. Finally, she seemed to make a decision.

“Scott, go light his candle.”

The circle once again broke out in cheers and whistles, pushing Scott and Stiles to their feet and making more room for them in the middle. However, Stiles didn’t seem to find that adequate and instead stepped out of the circle, opening the closet door in the wall next to them, and squeezing inside, shutting the door behind him.

Derek still had no idea what the hell was happening.

Then, there were three succinct knocks sounding from inside the closet. Scott went to open it, letting Stiles out, and then-

They started singing.

To each other.

Like a regular conversation, except they weren’t talking.

As their performance continued, Derek thought it started to sound somewhat familiar, like he had heard it from somewhere. Probably from one of those musicals Laura was obsessed with.

Scott and Stiles were decent singers, but it was also obvious they weren’t trying very hard, more interested in garnering laughs than admiration.

The song itself was… interesting. Scott was acting confused and flustered, so not far from his normal self. Stiles, on the other hand, was trying hard to be sexy and intense. He was going way overboard, making his friends choke with their amusement, but Derek was trying very hard to ignore how much he was actually being affected. Stiles’ act was working on him, and Derek had no idea why.

There were points when it seemed as though Stiles was singing directly at Derek. He had a few minor freakouts, like when Stiles sang the words, “You’re staring again,” and Derek was positive he was being called out. Turns out it was part of the song, thank god.

The performance blessedly ended in a few short minutes, with Stiles back in the closet. Their group erupted with applause, and Stiles burst back out with a dramatic bow, draping his arm over Scott’s shoulders and smacking a loud kiss on his cheek.

“See, Ally,” he began as he plopped back down next to Derek - pressed all along his side, “that’s what it means to be an actor. Not being embarrassed to be someone else. If you ever wanna make it big time, it seems like you’ve got some issues to work through.”

Erica and Isaac ooh’d while Allison rolled her eyes again, accepting a kiss on the cheek from Scott, who said, “Don’t listen to him, you’re perfect, and everyone is going to love you just as much as I do.”

Derek resisted the urge to both pull away and push closer when Stiles turned to him and leaned against his shoulder, pretending to gag.

“Hey, where’s Laura?” Boyd asked, eyes roaming the room for their director. “You guys came together, right?” 

Derek nodded and looked around as well, eyebrows drawing together in confusion when she appeared nowhere in sight. 

But then, Stiles’ hand fell on his shoulder as his other one directed Derek's line of sight to the other side of the room. After squinting in the dim light for a moment, Derek was able to make out Laura stomping her way over to the group. He had no idea what she looked so irritated over until he saw who was following along in her wake. 

“Ugh,” Erica muttered. “I thought she wasn't coming.”

Stiles shrugged and said, “Maybe if we ignore her, she'll go away?”

When no one offered up any better solution, Stiles once again took initiative. “So, I don't think I ever told you guys the story of why I auditioned for the One Acts.”

A few heads in the group shook, and Scott's tilted in amusement, not holding back his smile. 

Laura was just arriving at the circle as Stiles was preparing to tell his story. Just as he took a breath to delve in, a low and dangerous voice interrupted. 

“Well, if I'd have known Derek was going to be here, I would've cancelled my weekend plans even sooner.”

Grimacing, Derek tried to hide his expression from Kate, not wanting to unintentionally start anything.

“Of course, maybe I would've known he would be here if anyone had bothered to tell me there even  _ was  _ a cast party-”

“The year was 2016! The month was September, and the school year was finally starting to gain a little momentum.”

“Excuse me, Stilinski, I was talki-”

“I had made a bet with Scott that I could blow up our experiment in Chem without getting in trouble.”

“I'm still talking, dumbass, can't you take a hint-”

“If I won, he'd have to do something he really wanted to but was too embarrassed to go through with, and the same for me if I lost.”

“Look, I know that when you were younger you-”

“Obviously, I am a foolish, foolish man, because Harris hates my very existence.”

“- didn't really have a mother around to teach you manners, but you should know that it's very impolite to interrupt someone when they're talking.”

Stiles was silent, as was everyone else in the circle. Derek felt his breath hitch and turned to face Stiles.

Derek had to give it to him, he was a good actor, and if he didn’t know better Derek would think he was unaffected. However, he saw the edge to his gaze that hadn’t been there before, the way the vein in his neck was straining, and the way he was staring quietly at Kate was too unnatural for the loud and expressive boy.

It was the way he spoke, though, that really gave it away.

“If you haven’t gotten the hint yet that no one wants you here, then I’m sorry to be the one to tell you.”

He didn’t sound sorry; he sounded deadly.

Derek didn’t notice if Kate said anything else before she stomped off to god-knows-where, too invested in watching the fiery anger finally ripple over Stiles’ face, taking hold and squeezing lines into his forehead, pushing his eyes into slits, shoving his lips into a thin line.

No one talked about Stiles’ mom. No one.

Everyone knew that.

Derek’s hand moved of its own accord, skimming up Stiles’ arm and settling on his shoulder. Stiles let out a heavy breath through his nose, and his body finally relaxed some when Derek’s thumb began rubbing soothing circles into his skin.

Never one to linger on a tense moment, Stiles cleared his throat and started talking again.

“So why did you audition, Allison? I don’t think you ever told me.”

It was obvious that Allison wasn’t prepared for the shift in attention and tone, not after what had just happened, but she took the hint to move on, to distract - took it from Stiles willingly.

“Um, Kira convinced me to, and it sounded interesting.” The answer was stilted, but no one really noticed; just appreciated the change in conversation.

Stiles nodded emphatically, as if the answer was anything substantial.

“And what about you Derek?” asked Allison, drawing the attention away from herself, but also looking genuinely intrigued.

“Laura made me.” That was that.

Erica rolled her eyes and scoffed loudly. “Oh please, there has to be more to it than  _ that.”  _

“Well, um…”

 

**October**

 

Derek had always known his sister was evil. For his entire life, Laura had been tattling on him and stealing his favorite toys and telling Uncle Peter whenever he had a crush on someone. And more recently, it was more to the effect of hiding his basketball shorts on the days he had practice, or somehow tying his locker shut from the inside. 

Or signing him up for the Beacon Hills student-directed One Acts auditions. 

Of which one of the directors was -shocker- Laura.

She had been pushing for the opportunity since their freshman year, racking up the thespian points until she was eligible as a senior to direct a one-act play of her choice.

But Laura wasn’t one to do anything halfway.

So, no, Laura didn’t choose a one act. She wrote one.

And it was  _ good. _

At least, that’s what their dad had said. Derek didn’t see it; it was full of jokes he didn’t quite get and awkward pauses that were apparently supposed to be funny and characters that were a bit too “quirky”. It was a comedy through and through, and Derek wanted nothing to do with it.

He had told Laura as much, which was definitely a bad decision, considering her retaliation had been to write his name down on the audition sheet.

It would’ve been so easy to just go up to the paper and cross off his name, except for one little thing.

Stiles Stilinski.

He’d been standing there when Derek approached, staring pensively at the different play titles and their directors. It didn’t matter where he signed his name; the lists were only for your preferred play, but anyone could end up in any of them.

However, that didn’t stop the small curl of warmth from unfurling in Derek’s stomach when Stiles wrote his name right below his.

It was  _ maybe slightly possible  _ that he had a…  _ thing  _ for the senior. Not a crush, definitely not. But a thing. An admiration of sorts.

Not in a role model way, though. The guy was an idiot. Not in an academic sense, but in a common sense… sense. He was actually near the top of their class, second only to Lydia Martin. But that didn’t stop him from pulling pranks on Coach Finstock or mouthing off to Mr. Harris or making fun of guys that could easily beat him up. That  _ did  _ beat him up.

To be fair, the guys were complete douches and deserved the humiliating jabs Stiles threw at them, and he never, ever kicked someone while they were down.

Derek could still clearly recall that time sophomore year when Stiles completely broke the reputation of the guy that thought it would be funny to record Erica Reyes having a seizure. And then broke his nose.

That had gotten them both suspended.

But that was beside the point, which was that Stiles was currently signing up for the One Acts.

Since when did he even do theatre?

Derek realized he had been standing there for too long, caught up in his thoughts about Stiles (as per his “thing” for him) when said boy turned around and immediately spotted Derek.

His eyes widened and a smile formed on his lips as he raised a hand in greeting. “Hey, man! I didn’t know you were into theatre.”

_ Neither did I,  _ Derek thought.

Clearing his throat, Derek managed to reply, “Yeah, uh. I’m not.”

Stiles’ eyebrows scrunched together in confusion as he glanced back at where Derek’s name was scrawled on the paper. When he looked back, there was a question in his eyes.

“Laura.” That was all the answer he needed to give, apparently, given Stiles’ nod of understanding. 

“Yeah, me too,” he said. Which, what?

Stiles must have noticed the odd look on Derek’s face, because he hastened to clarify, “Scott! I lost a bet, so now I have to audition.”

Which made a lot more sense, considering the best friends’ affinity for striking bets at any given opportunity. 

Derek was trying to think of something, anything, to say in response when the music in the hallway cut off, signalling that their six-minute passing period was down to only two. Stiles swore and waved at Derek, a small but genuine smile on his face, before racing off down the hall in a storm of long limbs that all managed to stretch a little too far from his body as he ran. Derek didn’t even have time to wave back.

However, his class was right there, and he still had over a minute. So he cautiously approached the sign-up sheet, stared really hard at his name and ignored the way his eyes drifted down to Stiles’. He forced his hand up to grab the pen hanging from a string by the side of the paper. The tip of it hovered over his name, barely touching the surface-

The bell rang. Derek dropped the pen, rushed into his classroom, and slid into his seat. It appeared as though the teacher didn’t notice Derek’s tardiness, and Derek sighed in relief.

He spent the entire class ignoring how said relief didn’t have anything to do with not being counted tardy.

 

**November**

 

“He insulted my masterpiece, so I wrote his name on the list and forced him to show up,” Laura finished for him.

The group chuckled and Erica muttered, “Should’ve guessed.”

When the silence started to stretch again, Derek stepped up.

“What about Scott?”

Okay, so maybe ‘stepped up’ wasn’t the right way of putting it. He volunteered someone else to step up, which was kind of like stepping up, right? Oh well, his social skills still weren’t very good, though they had gotten better after the forced interactions of the past month.

Before Scott could even open his mouth, Stiles was huffing out a laugh and explaining, “Scott heard that Allison was auditioning and signed up the same damn day. Like a fucking puppy.”

For his part, Scott didn’t look ashamed in the slightest, although Allison did duck her head with a blush staining her cheeks.

Conversation flowed more easily after that, eventually making its way back up to par with the excitement it had been at before Kate had come and ruined it.

They played a few games, some with just them, some with the whole room. They formed a circle and took turns getting in each other’s faces, trying to make the others break before they realized that they were theatre kids and that the game would’ve gone on all night if they let it. They attempted to play just dance, but the Wii refused to work, and so Allison led the group in increasingly embarrassing dance moves from the front of the room. They danced and sang along to more musical songs. They had wrestling matches on the wooden floor.

They had fun.  _ Derek  _ had fun. He wasn’t necessarily participating in the events, but he found himself laughing at the others and swaying to the music and staring at Stiles for way too long.

But then, the groups broke off again, and Derek’s decided to play another game.

“Stage kissing,” Erica had declared. “I bet I’m better at it than any of you.”

Indignant scoffs had sounded from all around the circle, challenging Erica and building up their game. And so Erica had decided to prove it. She leaned over to her side and drew Boyd into a long and thorough kiss, full on the lips. Derek had known they were talking, but he had no idea they had gotten  _ that  _ far.

Only, when Erica pulled back, it became apparent that the kiss hadn’t been full on the lips, as the thumb of her right hand was laid out over the expanse of his mouth. Nevertheless, they both appeared flushed and out of breath, and Derek wondered if the thumb really actually blocked anything.

He didn’t wonder for long, because then his attention was again being rerouted, this time to Scott and Allison, who were also engaging in some serious lip-lock. Derek wasn’t sure how he felt about the change in activities, though he certainly wasn’t going to say anything. He didn’t feel  _ uncomfortable  _ so much as maybe a bit awkward.

That is, up until his sister had shouted out a challenge and lunged forward to draw Kira in.

Now he was feeling a little uncomfortable. That looked  _ real,  _ and Derek quickly diverted his eyes.

When Laura finally released poor Kira, the girl’s face was beet red. She had a dazed look in her eyes that made Derek think she wasn’t blushing only out of embarrassment.

Hm. That’s something Derek would maybe have to look into later.

However, that later was definitely not anytime soon; that much became apparent as Stiles said, “Okay, okay, those were all  _ good,  _ but none of them  _ great,”  _ and Derek realized there was no one left to kiss except him.

Which was exactly what Stiles did. He asked permission with his eyes first, and Derek’s must have said yes, because the next moment he felt Stiles’ hand slide up his cheek, the one facing away from the rest of the circle. Just as he leaned in, his thumb slid down from Derek’s cheekbone to rest tightly against the center of his mouth.

And then, there he was. Up close, and his mouth moved against his thumb, and their noses rubbed together, and his other hand curled into Derek’s hair and  _ tugged,  _ and Derek wasn’t prepared to feel Stiles’ lips press slightly against his own from around his finger- wasn’t prepared for any of this-

But then Stiles was pulling away, and Derek had to fight not to drag him back.

He attempted at cool and collected as the group whistled and then argued over who actually did best, but he tuned them out in lieu of listening to his own heart boom in his ears.

_ Fuck. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is what Allison and Kira had to sing ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5ndU5y7gh4 )  
> And the one Stiles and Scott sang ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yru_6rhsEoY )


	2. Chapter 2

**JANUARY**

 

There were  _ way  _ more people at the party this time around.

That was mostly to do with the fact that, instead of four plays with an average of seven people each, there was one big play with about forty people involved. The house it was taking place at was bigger, and the people were rowdier, and Derek was  _ definitely  _ wrong about theatre kids not being into drinking. Because there was alcohol  _ everywhere. _

Everywhere, now including Derek’s hand, and there Stiles was again. He had forgone his usual beanie this time around, instead letting his hair flop around naturally against his forehead as if he had taken a shower and just decided not to do anything with it as it dried.

Derek had to admit, he really liked it.

Although, he also had to admit, he always liked how Stiles looked.

So, maybe his “thing” had developed into a full-blown crush. Sue him.

“Heeeey, Derek, what’s up man?” Stiles slurred.

Derek raised an eyebrow, reached out, and plucked Stiles’ drink from his swaying hand. When he yelped out in indignation, hands already following the cup, Derek said, “I think you’ve had enough.”

Stiles looked at him for a moment, very closely. He seemed to be looking for something, and maybe he found it, because then he was smiling and patting Derek on the arm. “Thanks, big guy.”

Derek just rolled his eyes and deposited both cups on a nearby table. Stiles nodded his head in the direction of their group and the two made their way through the crowd. 

Looking around, Derek found it strange that he still didn’t know the names of many people there, despite having worked with them most days after school for over a month. To be fair, though, he had been a background character, only spoke a few lines on stage, and even fewer offstage. Derek had tried to be more open to socializing, especially since he hadn’t needed as near as much intervention to be convinced to audition this time around, but it still wasn’t easy. The only people he really talked to were Stiles, Erica, Laura, Boyd, and Isaac. Scott, Allison, Kira, and a couple others tried to make conversation with him every once in awhile, but it was often awkward and stilted and cut short when they accepted that it wasn’t going anywhere. 

Another thing Derek found strange was that he had no idea whose house he was at. Laura had dragged him to the party, albeit with less difficulty than the last time, and he hadn’t thought to ask before she was off finding some friends he didn’t know.

His question was answered quickly enough when they arrived at the corner of the room that had been taken over by the small group of people Derek was starting to see as friends.

“Isaac Lahey, if you get a single drop of soda on my couch, I will eviscerate you.” 

Isaac shrunk back at Lydia’s icy tone and whispered to Scott, “I don’t even know what ‘eviscerate’ means…”

Scott just shook his head and mouthed,  _ It’s bad. _

“Derek!” shouted Erica gleefully.

She was  _ definitely  _ drunk.

Stiles sat down by the loud girl and grabbed onto Derek’s hand, yanking him down until Derek had to either willingly sit down or risk falling over. The teenagers kept chatting for a short while before seeming to realize that Stiles and Derek had joined them.

“Okay,” yelled Erica over the hum of the party going on around them, “now that Derek’s here, we can start the game!”

“What game?” asked Derek.

Boyd replied, “Truth or dare,” with a roll of his eyes, but an unmasked fond look on his face as he gazed at Erica.

“Me first!” Allison shouted. “Kira, truth or dare?”

Kira looked both nervous and excited as she hesitantly answered, “Truth?”

Allison’s smile turned downright dangerous, and she leaned forward. “Who’s this secret crush you think you can’t tell us about?”

The poor girl’s eyes widened and a blush washed over her face. “Uh… what?”

“Oh please, we all know you’ve been losing it over someone for months, no need to play dumb,” Allison pushed.

“Yeah, who is he?” asked Scott excitedly.

Kira looked down for a moment, then back up at them with a determined look in her eye.

“Malia Tate.”

Scott’s mouth fell open. “No way…”

Allison quickly reached over and swatted him on the back of the head. “Scott, shut up! Oh my god, Kira, I know Malia! She’s super cute, and you guys would be adorable together! Stiles, didn’t you used to date her?”

Stiles threw his head back and laughed loudly. “If you could call it that. We decided to, uh… take each other’s cards. But we both agreed that it sucked and then she told me she was probably gay and I told her I probably was, too. Now she’s an out lesbian and I’m an out bisexual, and she still loves bringing up that awful night any time we see each other.” His words were still slightly slurred and he tripped over some of the story, but it was obvious he was already feeling more clear than he had been before, probably helped by the water bottle he had been sipping on since sitting back down.

Derek mulled over what Stiles had said. He had been with someone before, but so had Derek. He and Paige hadn’t lasted, not after her family had moved halfway across the country and the whole long-distance thing didn’t work out. Derek was over it, though, and it seemed like Stiles was over Malia, too.

Good, he thought. Then he kicked himself, because why should that be good?

_ You know exactly why,  _ he thought. He didn’t try to deny it this time.

Derek already knew that Stiles bisexual. His coming out had been talked about for weeks, after all. Harris had made an offhand comment about it not being a wonder that Stiles didn’t have a girlfriend, and Stiles had snarked back that it was a good thing he wasn’t limited to girls, then.

Harris had sputtered and shook in rage at having been, once again, one-upped by Stiles Stilinski. So frustrated, he’d sent Stiles to the Dean’s office, where Stiles had then told them he had gotten in trouble for being bi, and Harris had gotten in some serious trouble.

It didn’t help that Stiles’ father was the sheriff, and definitely not hesitant in calling the teacher out on his unfair treatment of his son.

And that was around the time Derek started questioning his own sexuality. That probably wasn’t a coincidence.

(It definitely wasn’t a coincidence.)

“You know,” Stiles continued thoughtfully, “she was telling me the other day about how a certain ‘adorably awkward and shy’ girl had gotten her attention... That seems to fit the description of someone we know…”

“You should ask her out,” stated Lydia.

Kira rapidly shook her head. “No no no, I couldn’t do that. Ever. I think I would die.”

Scott had finally gotten over his shock and went on to enthusiastically tell Kira, “No, listen! You are so amazing, Malia would be so lucky to date you! You’re the one who convinced me to ask out Allison, and look how that turned out! Now it’s your turn, and I really think it’ll pay off.”

“You’ll never know if you never try,” added Boyd. Erica smiled at him and blushed.

Sighing wistfully, Kira shook her head clear of any lingering doubts and looked to Stiles with a smile on her face. “Well, while we’re sharing crushes, why don’t you tell us who you’re hung up on, Stiles?”

“Kira!” Stiles yelled, affronted. “You promised not to bring it up! I told you that in solidarity when you told me about… you know.”

“Woah, wait a second… what are you talking about? Stiles, you like someone and didn’t tell me? And what about Kira?” Scott looked adorably saddened by the revelation that he was out of the loop with something concerning two of his best friends.

“Scottie, no offense, but….”

When Stiles hesitated, Lydia said, “You couldn’t keep a secret if your life depended on it.”

Multiple heads around the circle nodded in agreement, and Scott’s drooped.

“Plus, most of us have guessed who Stiles has a crush on by now, anyway,” Lydia said flippantly.

“What?!” shouted Stiles.

Eyes rolled and heads shook with pity and laughter, but no one said anything more on the subject.

Derek could understand Scott’s frustration. He didn’t know, either.

“Well,” sighed Lydia. “This game is boring already. Who’s up for a different one?”

“Depends on what you had in mind,” Isaac offered.

“Ever played Touch-to-Touch?” she asked. When no one said anything, the smile on her face turned devious. “Perfect. First, everybody pair up except for me.”

Some of the pairs were obvious: Scott and Allison, Erica and Boyd. But then Kira nodded at Isaac, where Derek was expecting her to grab Stiles.

Not that he was complaining. Because that only left Derek and Stiles.

“Okay, now the rules. I will call out two body parts, and the last group to touch them together is out. Got it?”

“Sounds easy enough,” said Allison, squeezing Scott’s hand with a smile.

Everyone stood up and faced their partner, so Derek stood up and turned to Stiles.

“You ready, big guy?” Stiles asked with a grin. “You better be fast; I’m not losing to these morons.”

Without thinking about it, Derek smirked and replied, “If we lose, it won’t be because of me.”

Stiles gaped, and then promptly burst out laughing. “You can joke, who knew!”

Before he could make another retort, Lydia shouted, “Knee to nose!”

Derek couldn’t even blink before Stiles was bending down and hooking his hand under the back of Derek’s knee, pulling it up to meet his nose. Derek had to quickly grab onto Stiles’ shoulder to keep from losing balance.

“Scott and Allison are out!” announced Lydia. Allison swore, but Scott just shrugged and sat back down on the couch, pulling her with him. She didn’t look so upset about the loss after that.

“Remember, this is only the first round, and the pairs will be shuffled each round. Next: Butt to thigh!”

This time, Derek didn’t let himself hesitate as he fell to one knee and yanked Stiles down to sit on his thigh. He ignored Stiles’ yelp of surprise and tried to ignore the way their points of contact were seemingly burning.

“Erica and Boyd, you’re done!”

Stiles shot up from Derek’s thigh and rubbed the back of his neck. “Quick thinking, man.”

Derek stood up, smiling sheepishly at Stiles, and shrugged. “Just really want to win, I guess.”

“Well then we better be quick with this last one, yeah? It’s down to us and Kira and Isaac.”

Derek nodded, feeling oddly jittery.

“Okay, last one for this round!” yelled Lydia. “Better be quick! And the last one is… Lips to lips!”

Neither pair moved for a moment. Derek felt like the breath had been sucked from his lungs as Stiles’ eyes flicked down to his mouth. His eyes did the same. 

When they came back up, there was a question on Stiles’ face, asking if it was alright.

Derek took a shaky breath and nodded his head.

Almost immediately, Stiles’ mouth was on his. It was still and it was dry and it was a little off center; it could barely be called a kiss at all.

And yet, it was the best one Derek had ever had.

Stiles was breathing out of his nose, and the hot air tickled Derek’s upper lip. He felt the urge to push into it, to  _ move  _ it in some way. He needed to know the way Stiles’ lips would feel sliding across his, being caught between own lips and teeth, catching his own in return.

But he stayed still, trying to absorb this. It was probably the best he would ever get; Stiles liked someone else, after all.

That was a sobering thought. Derek returned to his own head and surroundings to hear Lydia clearing her throat.

“I said, for the third time now, Stiles and Derek win. You can detach, now.”

Derek jerked away from Stiles, face red and head swimming. Stiles looked even more disoriented than Derek felt, and he had no idea if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

“Sorry,” mumbled Stiles, and Derek didn’t know what that  _ meant. _

So he just nodded and said, “No, it’s fine.”

Neither of them won again for the rest of the game.


	3. Chapter 3

**April**

 

If Derek had thought there had been a lot of people at the last cast party, it was nothing compared to this one.

He had just gotten off of a two-month preparation and showing of the musical  _ Chicago _ at school, and the number of students involved baffled him. 

BHHS had a decent theatre program- nothing too fancy, but also not incredibly popular, and so he hadn’t expected there to be any more people in the cast and crew than for the previous play.

What he hadn’t taken into account was the fact that it was a musical. That meant, not only were all of the theatre kids losing their shit, but so were all the choir kids. More precisely, the show choir kids.

Hordes of them. Practicing songs and dances, trying on sparkly dresses and risque prison uniform costumes.

And of course, Kate was one of them. She hadn’t been a part of the play a few months before, but the music aspect of this one apparently made it more worth her time. And with her, she brought drama and a group of snotty boys and girls to follow her around and back her up.

Derek didn’t have anything against show choir kids- he knew that every group had some rotten eggs prone to gossip and backstabbing. So no, show choir kids weren’t the problem.

Kate was.

And she had gotten the lead role of Velma Kelly, alongside Lydia Martin, who had been cast as Roxie Hart, Jackson Whittemore, reluctantly cast as Billy Flynn, and Stiles, who had gotten the role of Amos Hart.

Yeah, over the past few months, Derek had heard enough about how Stiles’ infatuation with Lydia in the musical hadn’t been all pretend. The two had tried to assure people that Stiles hadn’t been ‘in love’ with her for over a year and that they were best friends now, but those gossipers weren’t having it. They just kept going on and on and on about how Stiles was probably salivating at the chance to play her husband, no matter how the story went.

Needless to say, Derek’s nerves had been sufficiently grated.

And that wasn’t to mention the other ways this production had given Derek all sorts of bad feelings. He had also overheard people talking about how the character of Amos- average, easily overlooked, nothing special- was appropriately matched with Stiles.

He may have been able to ignore the jabs, had half of them not come from Stiles himself.

The boy thought so little of himself, sometimes. He believed himself to be ordinary and invisible and not worthy of attention.

He couldn’t be more wrong, in Derek’s opinion. Not that he’d had the guts to tell him so, but he thought it every damn day to make up for it.

And then there was the incident that had made Derek’s heart stop.

While he had willingly joined the production this time around (what could he say, it was growing on him), he point blank refused to be a part of the cast. Acting in the background he could do. But singing and dancing?

Yeah, no way.

So he had joined the crew, moving pieces on and off stage, building props, helping to make sure the set was all in order.

Maybe that’s one reason what happened bothered him so much.

BHHS theatre department was known for being extravagant, but riddled with small problems. The set never failed to look amazing, but the microphones rarely went an entire show without blowing out. The costumes were always on point, but someone got injured almost every show. The singing and dancing and acting were always consistently great, but there was a problem with some prop or piece of set every show, without fail.

This show, all three curses had surrounded Stiles, seemingly trying to sabotage his performance.

His microphone went out as he was belting out the words to Mr. Cellophane, but he just sang them louder. His briefcase literally fell apart during the show, but he just quickly picked it up and acted as though it was supposed to happen.

But then, he was almost crushed by a wooden jail cell set piece that had been suspended from the ceiling. The wire just gave out, and the piece plummeted to the stage. It passed about two inches in front of Stiles’ face and landed on his foot before tipping over and clattering to the ground.

Stiles had barely flinched.

He played it off so well that no one had even been sure it had hit him until he was backstage, where he had pulled off his shoe and sock to reveal black and purple skin covering his toes. Scott’s mom, who had immediately made her way backstage with little resistance during intermission, had said he was lucky none of them were broken.

When Derek had kept asking if he was okay, profusely apologizing, and generally pestering him about his well-being, Stiles had finally pulled Derek to the side.

“Derek,” he had said, “I’m fine. It’s not your fault, alright? This shit always happens, I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Derek wasn’t having it at first, saying, “But what if it had landed on your head? If I had just checked it more thoroughly, then maybe-”

“Derek!” Stiles had whisper-yelled. “Dude, I’m okay! Look, I can walk! Sure, it hurts, but it could’ve been so much worse. And I doubt you had anything to do with it, okay?”

“But-”

And then Stiles had huffed and dragged him in for a hug.

“I promise, I’m okay. So stop worrying, alright big guy?” Derek had felt the hot breath wash over his ear, and the firm arms tighten around his shoulders, and the heartbeat pulsing hard in and against his chest, and he had taken Stiles’ word.

Until Kate got to him a few days later. The accusations she’d thrown his way had been brutal and deliberate, sending his mind reeling in guilt and what-ifs.

He’d avoided both Stiles and Kate since then. He hadn’t planned on even coming to the party, but Laura had seen how he was moping and talked to their parents, who had then pressured him into attending.

So there he was, once again standing outside of Lydia’s house, anxious as hell. But he walked in, anyway.

This time, Stiles wasn’t there to greet him. Derek tried not to focus on how shitty it made him feel.

The group didn’t seem to be sitting together this time. Kira was sitting on a loveseat with a girl Derek recognized as Malia Tate, and they were smiling shyly and bravely at one another, and Derek didn’t want to intrude.

Then he saw Boyd and Erica making out in the corner, and he didn’t want to  _ see. _

Lydia was running around being the perfect hostess and making sure no one was fucking up her house, so Derek steered clear.

Scott and Allison were nowhere to be found, and Derek didn’t even want to think about what they could be getting up to.

Isaac wasn’t there, instead studying for a chemistry test he had on Monday.

And so Derek didn’t know what to do. He stood by the wall for a few minutes, started to feel too awkward, and made his way to the kitchen where there were bowls of snacks and bottles of soda and beer. But there were too many other people standing around for him to feel any less awkward than before, so he found the back door and slipped outside.

And, of course, there was Stiles.

He wasn’t the only one. Random individuals and couples were scattered around the lawn, but it was overall pretty quiet and Derek found himself breathing easier.

Until Stiles turned his head and caught sight of him.

His eyes grew wide with surprise and a hesitant smile crawled onto his lips as he waved. Derek awkwardly lifted a hand and gave a small wave in return, gulping when Stiles motioned for him to come over.

Despite the nerves, Derek’s feet carried him over to where Stiles was standing by a railing that overlooked the wide expanse of the Martin’s backyard. The grass was a dark green that eventually led into the Beacon Hills Preserve, the trees of which lined the deep and starry sky in a way that reminded Derek of one of those landscape paintings he saw on the field trip to the art museum last year. 

“Want something to drink? I’m going to get a water,” Stiles’ voice rang out from his side. He also looked like a painting. The moonlight and fire from the torches stuck in the ground reflected off his eyes so perfectly, they looked molten. Like whiskey swirling in one of the bottles stored on the high shelves of Lydia’s kitchen. The dark grey beanie was back on his head, hiding his hair except for the pieces that stuck out around the edge, framing his face beautifully. 

Derek just shook his head and ignored the resulting frown and shrug from Stiles as he retreated back into the house.

The dull, thumping music from inside and crickets from the forest were the soundtrack of the night, and the mood was anticipatory. Derek wasn’t sure what exactly he was waiting to happen, but he had a gut feeling that  _ something _ was going to. Something big.

It was the uncertainty of if that  _ thing _ was going to be good or bad that left him feeling vaguely nauseous.

The door opened back up, music briefly surging, flooding onto the lawn before it fell shut once again, and then Stiles was back next to him, leaning against the railing and sipping at his bottle of water. Stiles wasn’t drunk- Derek could tell. He looked and acted like he usually did, just more subdued, and Derek almost wished it was because he was drunk instead of whatever it was that was weighing on him.

Derek had a feeling it was him.

He was too afraid to ask.

So they stood there, silence accumulating between them into a wall that Derek didn’t know how to knock down.

Finally, Stiles offered a tentative, “They’ve broken out the costumes.” Derek accepted the icebreaker with gratitude.

“Do I want to know what they’re planning on doing with them?” he asked lightly.

Stiles chuckled and replied, “I don’t even wanna know what they have planned. I think they were starting to improvise scenes when I came back.”

“What about Scott and Allison? Do I want to know where they are?”

At that, Stiles outright laughed, and Derek could almost feel himself falling in love.

“Nah, nothing bad. At least, I hope not. They’re in Lydia’s room watching Rocky Horror, cause Scott’s never seen it, apparently. It’s sacrilege, I tell you. You can’t be in a musical if you haven’t seen Rocky Horror.”

Derek ducked his head with a smile, happy that Stiles was coming back into himself. “Keep in mind that I technically wasn’t  _ in  _ the musical when I tell you that I’ve never seen it, either.”

Stiles gaped at Derek. He looked genuinely offended at the revelation, and Derek didn’t even fight the laugh that bubbled up from his chest at Stiles’ outrageous expression.

“It’s not funny!” Stiles insisted. “The next chance we get, I am showing you that movie. And I’ll even be nice and not take pictures of you when I draw the ‘V’ on your forehead like Allison did with Scott.”

Face contorting in confusion, Derek asked, “Why the hell are you going to put a ‘V’ on my forehead?”

The sound of Stiles’ hand slapping his own forehead startled Derek. “I can’t believe-” Stiles trailed off, shaking his head in incredulousness. “‘V’ for virgin. You’re a Rocky Horror virgin, Derek. And I’ll have to buy a box of rice to throw during the wedding, too. You’re getting the full experience, big guy, don’t you worry.”

Derek shook his head with a huff. Stiles wanted to spend time with him. He wasn’t mad at him. He still didn’t blame him.

Derek had known Kate was just spouting bullshit, but that didn’t mean it hadn’t gotten to him. He felt that invisible weight lift from his shoulders.

“Hey,” he started, curious, “how do you know all this theatre and musical stuff, anyway? I didn’t think you were into drama. You were never in any productions before this year; I know, Laura dragged me to all of them.”

Stiles sighed quietly and tapped his fingers against the railing. After a moment, he revealed, “My mom and I used to watch musicals all the time. Not, like, Rocky Horror or RENT, obviously; I was way too young. But we used to sing songs from Wicked and Grease and Mary Poppins. After she died, I would watch them to feel close to her, ya’know? And then I started watching the ones she wouldn’t have let me see until I was older, like Les Mis and Spring Awakening. Chicago. I loved them, man. YouTube bootlegs became my best friend, and when some of them got movies I bought them all.” Stiles paused, smiling fondly at the memories. 

“I had never really considered being in a play or a musical until high school, but then I didn’t have the balls. Scott tried to get me to do it every year, but… I don’t know. It just didn’t feel right for some reason.”

“So why did you do it this year?” Derek asked.

Suddenly, Derek was pinned under Stiles’ stare.

“You know why,” he said.

“No, I mean besides the bet,” clarified Derek.

Stiles’ eyes narrowed. He looked frustrated and disbelieving. “There’s no way you don’t know,” he mumbled.

Derek felt his face contort into something that was no doubt conveying his confusion.

“No, I really don’t?”

“Derek,” Stiles said, like Derek was stupid or something. “I signed up because you did.”

And maybe Derek was stupid. He sure felt stupid. And dumbfounded. Because… what?

“What?”

Stiles rolled his eyes and looked back out over the lawn, cheeks turning pink in the dim light. “Why do you think I wrote my name under Laura’s play? I didn’t know Laura. One of my best friends, Heather, was directing one. Why would I choose Laura’s over Heather’s?”

Derek still felt lost. “But… You…” His mouth opened and closed a few more times, trying to comprehend what was happening. Hard to do, considering he wasn’t even sure what that was.

“Oh my god, Derek, I like you! Everyone knows it; even Scott caught on, for fuck’s sake! So you can stop looking like a fucking… stupidly attractive fish out of water now, okay?”

Derek’s mouth snapped shut. His face was burning and his heart was racing and his hands were sweating, and he had no idea what to do next. Did he say it back? Did he just nod? Did he… Would Stiles let him kiss him?

He didn’t know.

Stiles must have mistaken his hesitance for rejection, because he was muttering an apology and backing away from the railing. He was leaving and Derek  _ still hadn’t said anything. _

“Shit- wait!” Derek shouted, drawing the attention of multiple people around the lawn.

He didn’t care.

“Stiles, I… I like you, a lot. I’ve liked you for a long time. I was going to erase my name, that day you signed up. But then you put yours under mine, and I couldn’t do it because I wanted the chance to spend time with you.”

That’s all he could think of to say, so he had to hope it was enough.

Stiles carefully considered him, and Derek felt himself simultaneously wilt and bloom under his inspection. When a small and genuine smile broke out across Stiles’ face, slowly spreading until it was pulling at Derek’s lips, too, Derek felt an intense happiness light inside of him.

And then Stiles was walking back to Derek and the railing, stopping just short. His eyes bore into Derek’s, a question swirling in them, and it felt like that night when they first kissed. Except, this time it was for real, not some stupid game or some stupid bet or some stupid lie, it was really them. Finally.

Derek nodded, and Stiles pressed forward.

His lips were warmer than Derek remembered, and more alive. They moved against his own, slowly and firmly, testing the waters with no rush.

Derek wrapped his arms around Stiles’ waist, pulling them closer together and dispelling any remaining space or doubts. A hand crept up to caress his cheek, and another slid around his neck, gripping onto the shoulder on the other side, tethering them to one another.

He felt like they would fly away, yet he also felt more grounded than he ever had before, and he never could have expected all of the things kissing Stiles, being this close to him, would make him feel.

And then he was smiling, and so was Stiles, and kissing suddenly became incredibly difficult. So they broke apart, staying just as close, and quietly laughed. Derek was filled to the brim with happiness. He nuzzled his head against Stiles’, butterflies soaring in his stomach when Stiles pressed back, and he just had to kiss him again.

The two stood there for some amount of time that neither would be able to recall later, kissing and smiling and kissing again. It was perfect.

That is, it was until a loud screech pierced through the haze of their little bubble, tearing them apart with grimaces on their faces. Stiles twisted his neck around to look for the source as Derek peered over his shoulder, neither willing to disconnect quite yet.

They were greeted with the sight of Lydia, drunk off her ass, wearing a wig, a fake mustache, and gleefully shaking the colorful maracas in her hands.

“Looook who  _ finally  _ got their asses out of their heads! I called it you know, I called it!” She shimmied closer and shook the maracas in their faces with an openly happy grin and a cheerful laugh. “You guys are so gooood together! You’re, like, cuter than Scott and Allison, and I think they’re having sex in my room right now, so you guys are gonna help me kick their asses later, right? But maybe then  _ you guys  _ could have sex in my room! I bet that’d be hot, but I’m not a creep, ya’know, so don’t worry!”

“Lydia!” Stiles shouted, scandalized. “How much have you had to drink?”

Lydia scoffed and swayed forward, leaning her face against the both of them, maracas still shaking at her sides. “More than you, obviously. But I’m fine, I can liquor my hold… Wait… No, that’s not right…”

Derek and Stiles looked to each other, faces hurting with the effort of not bursting out with laughter. “Lydia,” Stiles continued, “I think it’s about time to call the party off. Derek and I can check if people are good to drive at the door, and you can go kick Scott and Allison out of your room. Does that sound good?”

When Lydia lifted her head from Derek’s shoulder, her stick-on mustache had peeled halfway off and her eyes had drooped from their excited stare to a tired daze.

She hummed and said, “That sounds great.”

Then, she promptly passed out.

Derek untangled himself from Stiles and bent to catch her before she could hit the ground, and her maracas clattered to the floor loudly.

“Um…” Stiles started. “Well, I guess I could take her upstairs and you could get everyone out?”

Derek nodded and they maneuvered Lydia into Stiles’ arms. As they made their way back inside, and Stiles with Lydia up the stairs, Derek started clearing people out. He made sure everyone could either drive themself or get a ride from someone before he let them leave, and by the time he walked back into the main room of the house, Stiles was standing in the middle, staring at the mess of cups and plates.

“The group’s all upstairs using a bunch of the guest rooms, and Lydia’s safe in bed, sans mustache. I did get a picture before I took it off, though,” he said upon seeing Derek.

“I’m sure she’ll appreciate that in the morning.” Now that they weren’t close together, Derek was starting to feel awkward again.

Stiles noticed, and he wasn’t having it. “Well, I think the cleaning can wait ‘til tomorrow. For now…” he motioned to the couch that had been cleaned off already, unlike the rest of the furniture. “I figured… we could use some sleep?”

There was a nervous note to his voice, like he still expected a rejection.

As if.

“Sleep sounds good,” Derek said as he made his way to the couch, grabbing Stiles’ hand on his way. When he looked back, Stiles was smiling widely at him. He squeezed Derek’s hand before pushing him down onto the couch, crawling on top of him.

Stiles hovered over Derek, staring at him with a soft expression, and then he sighed happily, leaned down to kiss Derek’s lips briefly, contentedly, and settled into him to sleep. Derek smiled as he stroked a hand over Stiles’ head, pulling the beanie off and dropping to the floor so that he could run his fingers through the strands of Stiles’ hair. Stiles’ fingers made a few circles in his side before stilling, falling off to a peaceful sleep.

Derek gazed down at the top of his head, and the smile stayed on his face even when he eventually let his mind succumb to sleep as well.

 

In the morning (afternoon?), while everyone else was groaning and moaning as they made their way to the kitchen for water and aspirin, Derek and Stiles woke up content in each other’s arms. They smiled at one another sleepily, and kissed once, softly, before Erica interrupted with a loud squeal that had the rest clutching at their heads. But Derek and Stiles just smiled again, laughing at their friends’ curses and questions, and kissed again.

The questions could wait. For now, they were enjoying this moment, lying together, with not a single worry that could reach them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song Stiles sang in the musical ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKHzTtr_lNk )

**Author's Note:**

> So there it is, hope you at least kinda liked it? And if you did (or didn't) you should 100% take 2 seconds to tell me why in the comments *hopeful grin*  
> Thanks so much for reading :)  
> 


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